Persona 3: The Beginning
by Cross Varia
Summary: Au: Two years after the battle with Nyx, the founding members of S.E.E.S encounter the trauma they have to live with after their leader disappeared. The healing process is a long one and leads to many places but this journey is only beginning. Who knows what will happens when it all Ends. Couples currently being debated on with the exception of a few. Enjoy!
1. Insomnia

A/N: Alrighty so this is basically a story that takes place almost side by side with p4 the end. Some characters that appear here will appear in p4 the end and some from p4 then end will appear here. The two stories will (spoiler) lead to something much much bigger later on. I hope you guys enjoy this and just so you guys and gals know. P4 will be updating soon and will most likely be in rotation with this story. Then there's heart of snow which I know I've been asked if it will be continued. It is on hiatus and once I complete this project then I will definitely continue that. So I hope you like this and get ready because here we go

* * *

_Mitsuru winced as she looked up at the large figure looming over here and her fellow companions. Its sword ready to strike as they all struggled to stand. There was on the other hand one person who had yet to hit the floor even once. Their leader, Minato Arisato. He stood with ragged breathing as he readied his sword for the next attack. "If you can't stand then don't push yourselves." His voice was calm but she could sense that he could only hold on for so long._

_"No. We must stand!" Her cry rallied everyone else as they pushed themselves off of the ground and readied themselves as well. Her shaky hands settled as she brought her rapier up in its proper stance followed by the sound of glass shattering as a elegantly dressed woman appeared and lashed her whip to the monstrous enemy which called it self the avatar of the goddess Nyx. _

_The avatar swiftly deflected the weapon with its sword and instantly unleashed a beam of crimson light towards its attacker. The red head braced herself but instead her eyes widened as a man with roman armor and a flowing red cape intercepted the attack by throwing itself in front of the beam which caused it to disappear. The sudden disappearance caused a white haired man to scream in pain as he collapsed to his knees. "Akihiko!" She cried out but she immediately avoided another of the beams which was hastily fired._

_Akihiko struggled to stand once again as he endured the pain of having his persona, an extension of himself, destroyed. He took deep breaths as he finally stood and drew his evoker once again and placed it to his temple. "Let's do this Ceaser!" The sound of glass shattering was followed by the large man appearing once again. He looked over to Mitsuru who was safe. He sighed in relief and charged into the battle being fought by the others._

_As time passed, it was clear that they were losing the battle. The Avatar was far too strong and every time they thought they won it would always get back up and lecture them on their failures as humans by telling them about the meaning behind the arcana._

_"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. The tragedies man faces make them stronger in the face of adversity but a broken tower will never be as strong as it was once before. There will always be the one weakness that causes it to collapse." The avatar raised its sword which began to glow a bright red. "Yes. The arcana is the means by which all is revealed. This is the tragedy which will shape man's future!" With a swift motion, it plunged its sword into the ground causing pillars of crimson light to come down all around the group as it tried to withstand the attack._

_Once all of the pillars of light disappeared, the sky above the avatar opened revealing a bright light. A person with crimson red hair stood in front of her with a sword drawn. "Burn in the heaven's light! Morning Star!" He proceeded to point his sword at the Avatar as an angel with six wings descended from the sky. It spread its arms, causing a single feather to hit the floor before an explosion of light engulfed the avatar in its holy light._

Mitsuru shot out of bed as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. "Its just a dream." She whispered as she pushed herself out of her bed and stood. "Its just a dream." She repeated those words as she walked out of her room and down towards the ground floor where the kitchen was. Her mind continued to think about the day when they faced off with Nyx. The day the fate of one of her closest friends was sealed.

She entered the kitchen and sat at a nearby chair as she looked down at the intricate wood table. "I keep having that same dream. I don't know why it keeps ending when Ryou shows up." She sighed as she let her head rest on the palm of her hands. She continued to think about the battle and the effects that it had on everyone until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Couldn't sleep?" The silver haired man that entered noticed that her body was shaking slightly. "And you came out with only your nightgown on. You know how cold it is out here right?" He chuckled as he walked over to a nearby cabinet and began getting some supplies together to make something. He hummed a light tune as he turned on the stove and placed a kettle on it. "Alright now that's done." He walked over to where Mitsuru was and sat next to her.

She looked blankly at the table as she tried to gather her composure. She didn't want anyone to see here like that. She hated the feeling of helplessness she would gain whenever she would have that dream. She sighed as she looked up at Akihiko with a wry smile. "I'm fine Akihiko. I just came down to clear my head a little. That's all."

He sighed as he tapped his knuckles on the table. "Come on Mitsuru I know you had that dream again. It's the third time this week." He stood and walked over to where the kettle was. "It happened and we're stronger because of it. We lost our leader but that doesn't mean we lost our way." The kettle had begun to whistle as he looked over at her. "You need to open your eyes Mitsuru." The last comment caused the red head to stand and slam her hands on the table.

"And do what?!" She tightened her hands into fists as she leaned against the table. "The battle haunts me because of the decisions I made!" She turned and faced Akihiko who was making something with the water he had just boiled. "I made him leader! I made him take all of the responsibilities! He sacrificed himself for us!" She was shaking from both frustration and sorrow as she held onto the top of her chair to keep herself steady.

Akihiko stopped and stared at her. She looked so broken but she had to let out all of those emotions she had to keep pent up through the day. Sometimes even at night she couldn't afford to lose control. She was the leader of the Kirijo Group, she would be gaining control of S.E.E.S in a matter of hours and now the nightmare she thought she was rid of was back. "Mitsuru its been two years since it happened. You need to let yourself heal." He clenched the cup in his hand and let out a quick breath. "I- We want you to understand that none of us hold your decisions against you. They had to be made."

She looked as if she had just gotten a bombshell dropped on her. She looked down and she immediately held on to the chair as tight as she could. "I'm relieved but. I can't forgive myself. I just can't. He meant something to everyone. It should not have been my choice to make him put his life on the line!" She held back a sob as tears slid down her face. "I...I miss him so much."

He sighed as he walked towards her and placed two cups on the table. "He did what he thought was best for everyone. He wasn't the selfish type Mitsuru." He gently helped her sit back down as he slid a cup over to her. "He decided the weight of his life was a good enough cost to end the suffering everyone was going through. In the end it was his choice. Not yours and.." He sat down back next to her and as he reached over for his cup, she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest. "The stress is getting to you. Just cry as much as you need to. I promised him I'd make sure you would be okay and I don't plan to break that promise anytime soon." _'I miss him too.'_

After a few minutes she felt herself calm down and sleep came soon after. Once she fell asleep in his arms, Akihiko sighed as he gently picked her up and began walking towards her room and with a sigh he looked back at the cups of tea. "I can always come back for mine later." After a couple of minutes after, he walked into the kitchen and noticed a crimson haired man drinking tea from one of the cups.

"She had another stress related freakout huh?" The man let out a sigh as he placed the cup down. He was wearing a black vest with multiple pockets on it as well as black cargo pants and combat boots. On the chair behind him was a jacket with the word S.E.E.S on the back. "She needs to let all of it out if she wants to get stronger than she was before. Especially if she's going to be leading S.E.E.S starting tomorrow."

Akihiko sat down across from him and took the other cup and took a drink before responding. "Yeah. She's been dreaming of the battle with Nyx for the past few months but this week seems to be the worst of it since she's seen it three times this week so far." He took another sip and placed the cup down as the crimson haired man reached behind his ear and removed a headset.

He sighed as he clicked a button on it which made the light on the side turn red. "I need you to answer one thing for me Aki." He placed his hand in his pocket and then pulled out a small box with the initials 'M.K.' on it. "You told me to hold onto this for the past year. Why?" He placed the box at the center of the table and then reached over to his cup so he could get another sip.

The silver headed man sighed as he grabbed the box and looked at it intently. "It was going to be a graduation present I bought for her. We were shopping for some farewell presents for the others when she saw this and instead of buying it, she walked away. I worked my ass off and bought this about a month before graduation. I never got the guts to give it to her." He placed the box back on the table and sighed as he debated if he should give it to her. Maybe it would ease her mind and allow her to finally open up more.

"You gotta make sure you don't wear yourself out Aki. She needs a person to keep her balanced especially since she lost so much in such a short span of time. I need to stick to my responsibilities as a squad leader. I have a patrol to attend to so goodnight Akihiko-san." He quickly fixed his gear and immediately began walking away until Akihiko grabbed his shoulder.

He chuckled as he held his hand out. "Its a good thing you visited Ryousuke-san. Good luck on your patrol and as for me. I'll be going to bed as I need to debrief your team since you came back from Inaba not too long ago. I'll see you at ten in the morning alright?" Ryousuke nodded as he shook Akihiko's hand and bowed before he left the building.

* * *

It was morning when a red-head opened her eyes and yawned. She looked around and then looked next to her which was an empty spot on her bed. She pouted and sighed as she stood up and walked over to a nearby bathroom. She looked in the mirror and noticed her red eyes were a bit brighter than they were before. "Hmm. I need to see what I'm going to wear today. Don't want to make em wait." She looked through a closet full of clothing and immediately began to try on different outfits.

"Nope. No. Nah." She muttered as she kept cycling through her outfits until she stopped at a white sundress which reached a bit past her knees. "Aha! Perfect!" She quickly ran into the bathroom and showered followed by a change of clothing which finally ended with her fixing her hair. She tied the back of her hair into a pony tail while the rest she moved to the side in an intricate pattern which was held in place with bobby pins. "He's gonna be so surprised when he sees me coming." She smiled and made a quick pose as she ran to her shoes and quickly exited the house.

The red head walked down the streets of port island with a smile as she thought of the person she was going to meet with. _She looked on as a brunette wearing a beanie was cooking something in the kitchen. The hiss of the pan and the scent of the food were pulling her towards him but she was easily repelled when a pair of chopsticks tapped her forehead. "Ow! Shinji you meanie!" She rubbed her forehead as the light stinging sensation still remained. _

_The brunette chuckled as he continued to stir the food in the pan. "I told you not to get so close. You'll get burned." The corners of his mouth rose as a light smile crept onto his face when he knew the food was done. "Alright. Now you can come." He quickly loaded a plate with food and set it in front of the girl who happily began eating. "Geez if food makes you this happy. I wonder what it takes you to become a follower." Immediately she pouted and stuck her tongue out at him which caused the brunette to laugh. "Mina. Did I ever tell you that your face looks funny when you pout?" The glare he received caused him to recoil a bit since he knew what was coming next._

_She smirked as she picked up the chopsticks and flung them in his direction only to miss and instead land in his cup of tea. "oops."_

She continued walking, lost in thought until she ran into someone who accidentally knocked her down. "Oomph!" She looked up and stared at a boy who was definitely taller than her looking down at her with a look of concern on his face. "Crap! Minako-san are you ok?" She looked at his with a confused expression until she saw a scar on his face, over the eyebrow.

"Ken?!" She screamed which caused the brunette to wince in pain. "H-How?! How did you get so tall! and. Muscular." She paced around him, studying every last detail about him that changed at least until she heard him stutter nervously. She decided not to tease him and instead start a conversation with him. "So Ken. What brings you around here?" He stopped stuttering and then chuckled as he pointed to a building a couple of blocks away.

"I'm going to visit Aragaki-senpai. I was going to see if he could help me with my training for the S.E.E.S practical exams." She looked at him and noticed his spear was most likely in the long bag he was carrying behind his back. "Well I'm guessing you were going to the hospital to find him?" He tried his best to hide the smirk which was beginning to appear on his face.

Minako looked at him and then pouted as she turned away and began walking towards the part he had pointed at. "Yes I'm going to visit Shinji!" She continued walking until he caught up to her and bowed.

"I'm sorry senpai. I was just teasing." He said as he matched her pace.

She remained silent as they continued walking. The silence had grown thick to the point that they could hear a pin dropped from a mile away.

The silence continued until they stood in front of a door which had the name Aragaki Shinji on it. Minako quickly knocked on the door but there was no reply. A few seconds later, she knocked again and this time, a brunette wearing a beanie and a black sweater opened the door. "Ken. Minako. Come in." He silently walked over to the kitchen and continued to cook as he heard about Ken's intention to take the practical examination for S.E.E.S. "Ken if you want to join. Wait till after you're out of high school. You'll be out late and without rest you'll end up messing up."

Minako silently watched as both had their conversation. She wondered about what could have happened to change their relationship that much. _"Ken. Run!" Shinji yelled out as he charged at a large shadow which was about to run him through with its lance. The two clashed as Ken was successfully able to run away from the shadow and closer to Minako. "Let's do this Castor!" He pulled the trigger on his evoker which summoned a large knight on a horse. The knight reached in front of its gut where a blade was impaled and charged as it drew the blade. "Fatal end!" He screamed out as both he and Castor sliced the shadow into bits._

_Ken looked on and Shinji flexed his hand until a coughing fit took him over. The coughing became so much that he collapsed and struggled to stand back up. "Shinji!" Minako screamed as she ran over to him and helped him stand. "You pushed yourself too hard! We need to go back to base." Ken nodded as he helped carry the downed brunette back towards the large house that was nearby. "Fuuka. We need someone to help us. Shinji is down and Ken is injured." A voice in her head quickly replied and seconds later, a few men dressed in black combat gear ran into the house and helped them get back to base. _

After the incident, Shinji took care of the brunette often helping him make decisions about what to do next when it came to where he wanted to go with his life. She was always there for him even if he wanted her not to be there. She saw him through his darkest moments and his greatest accomplishments. She looked at her hand and a silver ring was wrapped around her ring finger. She was snapped out of her stupor when he heard him call her. "huh?"

The brunette sighed as he walked over to her and pulled her off of her seat. She smiled as she pressed her lips against his. They held their kiss for a moment until they both felt the need to pull away. They smiled as they walked over to Ken who was trying his best not to imitate a fish. "Well then. How bout we go pay Mitsuru and Aki a visit."


	2. Debriefing

A/N: Alrighty time for chapter 2. I'm going to keep the author's note short today. My first review (awesome person) just to clarify a quick thing. S.E.E.S will have a name change later on and that name will obviously be Shadow Operatives. Just so no one goes "Oi that's the wrong name!" The name will change later on so don't mind it. Enjoy chap 2.

* * *

_"Ngh..What the hell are we fighting?" A red head winced as he stood up and readied his sword. In front of him stood a man with white hair and a long katana at his side. "Whoever you are we won't let you stop our escape!" He dashed forward and clashed with the man only to get overpowered and sent flying into a nearby railing. Another boy with the same hair color rushed to the downed boy and helped him to his feet. "Thanks." He quickly avoided a series of strikes and countered with a swift slash but it proved ineffective as he was knocked back again._

_"Ryousuke we can't handle this guy. We only wanted to escape! Why is that guy getting in our way?!" The other boy called out as he quickly pulled the string on his bow back and aimed. He was able to track the motion of the mysterious person and with a swoosh, an arrow flew threw the air and impacted the man in the side. "Got him!" His excitement was cut short when the same arrow he had just launched was about to catch him. Before it impacted, Ryousuke dashed in front and deflected the arrow but the trajectory was still low enough to cut him across the face. "Brother!" The red head screamed as he saw his brother collapse from the immense pain._

_Ryousuke growled as his hand was over the cut he had just sustained. "Arc. Get to the car and tell them to go without me. I'll keep fending him off." Arc looked at him wide eyed as he nodded and turned towards the direction of some cars as his brother stood and readied his weapon once again. "We're tired of being experimented on. Today we leave the Kirijo group behind..."_

A sudden shake caused Ryousuke to wake up as he realized he was sitting in a car with two other people. A man with a buzz cut and a woman with mid-length black hair. He looked over at the man who was reading a book and listening to music. He wore the same uniform the red head wore with the exception of the jacket which he didn't like wearing. The woman wore a form fitting body suit which was accompanied by black cargo pants and a black vest. She sighed as she nudged him once more, this time with enough force to knock his head into the window. "Ow."

The woman smirked and the man suppressed a laugh as the red head rubbed his head with a low groan. "Wakey wakey captain." She mocked as she checked the pockets of her vest just to make sure everything was in place. Once she was sure, she turned to Ryousuke who was still rubbing his head. "You always fall asleep in cars." He was about to respond but she held her hand out. "And you tend to mumble in your sleep. I mean the last time you fell asleep you were like 'Fuuka-chan wait for me ahahaha!' It was kinda weird." The last comment caused him to sigh and slam his head against the back of the car seat.

"I was having a dream ok!" He sighed as he turned his head to the outside and realized that they arrived at their destination. "Well we'll save the stupid conversation for some other time. Let's move." Once the car stopped, all three people stepped out of the car and walked towards a large entrance where Akihiko stood with his arms crossed. "Team one salute!" He and the other two quickly placed their fists against their chests and bowed until Ryousuke crossed his arms and turned to the other two. "We're ready for the debrief commander."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shinjiro, Minako and Ken were walking towards a car which was parked near the apartment they were in a couple of seconds ago. "Feel like driving Ken?" The brunette immediately looked over at Shinji and nodded as he held his hand out. "Heh alright then." He placed the keys in Ken's hands as he opened the rear passenger seat in order to let Minako in.

Once she stepped inside, she reached for Shinji's hand and pulled him into the car with her which caused him to land on the seat next to her. "You're riding next to me Shinjiro." The scene caused Ken to sigh as he started the car and drove off towards the Kirijo compound. As he drove, he noticed Minako resting against Shinji while he was looking out of the window. "Shinjiro-senpai. Why did you go to the hospital yesterday?" The question snapped the beanie wearing brunette out of his stupor as he looked over to Ken.

He sighed and shifted himself so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping girl. "I'm recovering at a steady rate but." He looked over at her sleeping face and frowned slightly. "I'm suffering some kind of backlash from having to use Castor those few times." He looked at his hand and flexed it a couple of times. He closed his eyes as he thought about what to say next.

"You don't have to fight anymore." The words were blunt but had enough sense to them that Shinjiro chuckled as he looked out of the window. "I'm serious senpai. You don't have to fight. Dedicate yourself to making sure she doesn't have any more hardships to go through." He stepped on the brake as the light in front of him turned red. "If using Castor does so much damage then leave it to me. I'm training so you don't have to push yourself." He sped up the car once the light turned green and continued driving until he heard a light sneeze.

Shinji looked over at her and smiled warmly as he carefully removed his jacket and placed it on her. Upon the jacket landing on her, she adjusted herself and then continued sleeping. "I can't sit on the sidelines Ken. I know you want to fight but I can't let you. Not yet." He then wrapped his arm around the sleeping Minako as he looked at Ken. "I just need to learn to adapt to the amount of power Castor has."

The teen shook his head as he began to speak. "That's not the point senpai! How can you protect her? How can you ensure she's happy if you kill yourself?!" The sudden burst caused the beanie wearing brunette to lower his head slightly. "Senpai. You need to know that with your power is powerful but at the same time you keep losing yourself every time you use it."

"I need to become stronger. Minako barely found out that if the seal fails she will have to give her life up next! I want to make sure she won't die!" Shinjiro raised his voice but not enough to wake the sleeping girl. "I can't lose her. Not after everyone fought so hard. Not after Minato-san gave himself up to keep all of us alive." He was gripping the seat as he debated on what else to say. "I want us to live long enough to.." He trailed off as he tried to put his thoughts together.

Ken spoke before Shinjiro could speak again. "I know. Everyone wants to live that long but at this rate that isn't going to happen so please senpai just think it over." The brunette teen sighed as he turned and parked into a driveway. "Minato-Senpai wouldn't want you to push yourself like this. I mean he helped all of us get stronger but there a limit to how much you can do on your own senpai." The comment seemed to catch the beanie wearing brunette off guard again as he sighed and slightly nudged Minako who yawned and stretched before looking at both guys in the car with a confused expression.

* * *

Mitsuru sighed as she read through some documents which were delivered to her desk that morning. "Inaba. What is so important there that so many events have taken place there?" She continued to skim through them until she saw a couple of names pop up multiple times. "Mitsuo Kubo. Tohru Adachi. These names have popped up together at least ten times by now." She set the documents down and opened her laptop. "I'll see what I can pull up on these two." She looked through the web and stopped on a page that was called the mysteries of Inaba.

She looked through the page and she stopped at a section called the Serial Kidnappings. "For a year, people disappeared and then they appeared with no recollection of what happened. The only exceptions are Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. They were found dead but that's where the deaths stopped." She continued looking through and then she stopped at the bottom of that section. "Nanako Dojima was one of the people kidnapped and that's where the one behind the kidnappings was revealed to be Namatame."

She sighed and rubbed her temples as she tried to let the information fester in her mind. All of a sudden her screen started to beep. "What in the?" She looked at it and clicked the section which began to glow which brought up a chat screen. The screen name of the person was Zetzet95 and he quickly sent her an array of messages.

_"If you're looking for information involving the incidents in Inaba then it would be best to visit the town yourself." _She stared at the screen and then she began to type a reply to the person who was most likely the web page administrator.

_"If you are suggesting I go to Inaba then what should I be looking for while I'm there?"_

_"Heh You should stay at the Amagi Inn. There you'll be able to meet one of the victims. Yukiko Amagi. There's also Junes where one of the people who was questioned works. His name is Yosuke Hanamura. Tatsumi textiles, location of another victim. Kanji Tatsumi." _The person typing chuckled as he ran his hand through his black hair. He sighed as he noticed the style of speech. "Ah geeze Mitsuru. Take the hint won't ya."

She sighed as she wrote down the names of the people the stranger mentioned as well as the places where she could go and quickly replied to the person who she was talking to. _"I thank you for the information. Goodbye." _She quickly exited the page and ran towards the garage where she was expected by team one.

Upon arriving to the garage she saw four people waiting for her. Immediately they all bowed as she stopped in front of them. "At ease." All four straightened up and looked at her. "Report everything you know about Inaba. If what I think happened is true. We need to get Fuuka to do a scan for signatures of shadows and persona users as well." She turned and led all four towards a door which slid open revealing an elevator that only went down. She walked in and was followed by all four people.

Akihiko looked at her expression and realized that something was wrong. He sighed and he looked over to Ryousuke who only nodded towards her. "Go and change out of your gear. Afterwards we'll talk." Mitsuru raised her eyebrow as she looked at Akihiko who had his eyes closed almost as if he was meditating. After a few seconds, the doors opened and the three members of team one walked towards their locker room. The red head was about to follow them until she felt a hand on her shoulder. "We need to talk."

She sighed and turned to face the boxer face to face. "If its about yesterday... Forget about it." She was about to walk away when she felt a hand on her shoulder. she let out another sigh and turned to face him a second time. "What is it Akihiko?" He leaned against the wall and punched the button next to him which caused the elevator to close and go back up. "What is the meaning of this?!"

He crossed his arms as the elevator went still. "I decided we needed some private time." He walked towards her and placed his arm on the wall so he was leaning towards her. "What did you find? You look like there's something that you HAVE to confirm." Her eyes widened but before she was about to speak he placed his finger on her lips. "Let me finish." He moved back to where he was earlier and crossed his arms across his chest again. "If it involves the sudden increase of shadows in that town. It wasn't because of what happened with Tartarus."

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him who seemed to not be affected by it at all. "I know but I still feel responsible. People died Akihiko and we stood by and did nothing." She looked down and he could see the pain on her face. "I don't know how much longer I can handle this. What if I fail? What if I fall?! What then!?" She clenched her fists and hardened her stare as he stood there with his eyes closed. "Answer me Akihiko!"

He knew it. She was linking the events together and she believed that what happened was a consequence to the disappearance of Tartarus. She was taking all the blame even if it wasn't her fault. "I'll debrief the team Mitsuru. Go and rest some more." Before she could relent, she was given a light tap on the forehead. "No fighting it. Go and rest." She rubbed her forehead as she backed out of the elevator and into a hug. He couldn't help but chuckle as the doors closed. "Maybe you can get through to her Minako-san."

The red head looked down and noticed a pair of slender arms wrapped around her frame. Behind her she could swear she heard someone purring. "Wh-what is the meaning of this?!" By the time she turned around, she saw Shinjiro holding back Minako who was trying to hug her again. "Amada, Shinjiro and Minako. What brings you to my home?"

The brunette sighed as he finally let go of Minako who immediately ran into the crimson haired woman and hugged her once again. She nudged her head into Mitsuru's chest which caused the crimson haired woman's face to turn a dark shade of red. "Mitsuru-san I missed you!" She said as she continued nuzzling her face against her chest. Mitsuru could swear she still heard something purring. A few minutes later they were sitting in a rather large living room when a maid walked in and placed a tray of drinks and snacks down for everyone.

* * *

Akihiko stepped out of the elevator and stood in front of the three team one members. "Ryousuke Kurosawa, Rio Kirigaya and Solomon Arterius. Thank you for coming. First thing is I want to confirm the reports of shadows in the Inaba region. Second is I want to know if you sensed any other persona users. I've had reports from Fuuka that she sensed something along the lines of another group of persona users."

The crimson haired man stepped forward and held out a folder full of paper. "There was shadow activities recorded all over Inaba during the time we were there. It peaked around the month of December when a large fog rolled in. It completely took the whole town by surprise and we had our work cut out for us when they started appearing." He drew his sword and it looked like it had seen better days. "My sword ended up becoming so blunt that it wouldn't even cut through a tatami mat without struggling quite a bit."

Akihiko studied the blade and noticed that many of the areas where it was blunt were used for blocking and parrying as opposed to actual striking. "What shadows did you see?" He gave the blade back to its owner and sat down on his seat.

"That's what what I mean by we were having a hard time. Nothing but the dark knights towers and rooks. We actually lost a member. Evan. He was dragged down into a void by these strange hands. Afterwards we heard a voice that said he would be useful in the future." He sheathed his blade and crossed his arms as he tried to get his mind off of his missing team mate. "We believe that he's still alive. Just missing"

The boxer sighed as he read through the documents. His eyes skimmed the case as well as the little details that were involved. He narrowed his eyes when he read a series of names that caught his attention. "What do these names have in common?" He stopped at a page with the list of witnesses as well as victims. "Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa, Naoto Shirogane, and Nanako Dojima." He placed the files on the seat next to him as he stared up at the three operatives. Rio stepped forward and quickly typed into a PDA that was was mounted on her arm.

"Sir those people were targeted by Namatame and were kidnapped for varying amounts of time. Apart from that, the name of Morooka was there due to the copycat Mitsuo Kubo attempting to take credit for the other murders as well as the kidnappings. Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano were both confirmed to have been killed by one Tohru Adachi who was a member of the Inaba P.D." She scrolled through her information and then stopped at the section with Adachi's file. "Tohru Adachi was the mastermind behind everything. He organized Namatame and convinced him he was doing good by kidnapping the people and then he gave Mitsuo Kubo a literal push in the direction he wanted him to go in." She deactivated her PDA and immediately looked down. "He's a psychopath."

The silver haired man nodded as he pulled his phone out and dialed a number into it. "This is Sanada. Have the plane ready to leave by the end of the day. We're going to Inaba." He stood and walked over to the elevator and pushed the button which opened the door. "Arterius. Bring Fuuka here and have her scan the people you guys have on file that are not dead. If there are potentials or if they already have their personas... I want to know who they are." The bald man nodded as he looked over to his teammates who nodded as they went the opposite way in order to get ready to go.

* * *

Mitsuru sighed as she brushed the hair of the sleeping girl on her lap. She chuckled softly as she heard the girl let out a light purring noise once again. "So Shinjiro. I take it you want to join us again?" She looked at her friend's sleeping face and lightly smiled as she listened to her close friend. "I see. I would normally welcome someone as strong as you with open arms. I can't. Not with what your doctors have told me."

Shinji sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah I figured you would say that." He looked at his hands and then he noticed Ken standing up with his hand on his bag. "But at least consider Ken for a position in recon. He's fast enough to avoid the shadows and he can remember different paths easily." He reached into his pocked and pulled out a broken pocket watch. "He'll be effective and We've discussed the probability of him joining up completely once he's finished high school." Ken smiled at his senpai's words as he sat back down.

The red head let out a chuckle as she looked over at Ken. "I'll have Kurosawa test you once he is done with the debrief." She let out a quick yawn as she looked behind her. "Speak of the devil." She mumbled as the door opened revealing only Akihiko with a folder and two plane tickets. "Mind explaining?"

The boxer laughed lightly as he gave her a ticket followed by placing the folder and second ticket on the table. "Hey Shinji, Ken." Both nodded as Akihiko sat down next to Mitsuru and stared at the others. "Well first off thanks for visiting and second. Mitsuru we need to head for Inaba as soon as possible. There seems to be something of interest there." The red head as well as the others gave him an awkward stare as he began to explain himself. "The case files. I went over them and I had team one bring in Fuuka so she could search while we go and investigate ourselves. Maybe get some information from some of the people that were involved."

Mitsuru nodded as she looked at the ticket and placed it on the table. "I'll start packing now. Oh Shinjiro, Ken and Minako-san. I will send the plane back for you three if you wish to come to Inaba." Once she mentioned the plane, Minako shot up from her sleep and hugged the red head again. "We'll go!" The sudden eruption caused everyone in the room to at least chuckle at the girl's antics.

After a few hours, the pair sat in the plane as they waited for it to take off. Akihiko tapped on his headset as he heard a voice come through. "Akihiko-senpai. I found one!" The voice was definitely Fuuka's as he quickly pulled out a pen and paper. "Yukiko Amagi. She's a persona user! I barely got a reaction but something amplified my power. I'm too tired to keep searching tonight but I can check again tomorrow."

Akihiko grinned as he felt the plane move. "Thank you Fuuka. With this we're taking a step in the right direction. I'll talk to everyone once we land alright?" He sighed as he tapped his headset again and stared out the window. His hand on a small box with initials on it. He sighed as he hoped that they would be able to find out what they wanted to know. Elizabeth better have been right, he thought as he let his consciousness fade away.


End file.
